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HOLY CROSS LUTHERAN CHURCH 1720 E. Minnehaha Parkway
Minneapolis, MN 55407 THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT
March 14, 2021 Opening Hymn
“Lord, ‘Tis Not That I Did Choose Thee” LSB 573, TLH 37
2 Invocation
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen. Confession of Sins
P Almighty God, our Creator and Redeemer, we poor sinners confess unto You that we are by nature sinful and unclean and that we have sinned against You by thought, word, and deed. Wherefore we flee for refuge to Your infinite mercy, seeking and imploring Your grace for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.
C O most merciful God, Who has given Your only-begotten Son to die for us, have mercy upon us and for His sake grant us remission of all our sins; and by Your Holy Spirit increase in us true knowledge of You and of Your will and true obedience to Your Word, to the end that by Your grace we may come to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Absolution
P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of our Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
3 Prayer of the Day
P Let us pray. We praise You, LORD Jesus, for lifting up
the beauty of Your Grace for us…far above the
requirements of the Law. Guide us by Your Spirit, we pray, to lift You up in our lives, that Your Grace will be the guiding principle for our daily lives. In Your holy name, Jesus, we pray.
C Amen.
Old Testament Reading, Numbers 21:4-9 (NIV)
[The Israelites] traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the
wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”
Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to
Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So Moses
made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived. Epistle Reading, Ephesians 2:1-10 (NIV)
As for you [Gentiles], you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived
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among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, Who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Gospel Reading, John 3:1-15 (NIV)
P The Holy Gospel according to St. John, the third chapter.
C Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
There was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a Teacher Who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at My saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound,
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but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven – the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him.”
P This is the Gospel of the Lord. C Praise be to Thee, O Christ.
Nicene Creed
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried. And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. And He will come again with glory to judge
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both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church, I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Sermon Hymn
“What a Friend We Have In Jesus” LSB 770, TLH 457
7 Sermon “Lifted Up”
Prayers of the Church Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Communion
Benediction (NIV)
P The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
The Lord turn his face toward you and T give you peace.
8 Closing Hymn
“There Is a Redeemer” LSB 971
Tune and text: © 1982 Birdwing Music, admin. EMI. Used by permission: LSB Hymn License no. 110003021
Acknowledgments
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®),
copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2021 Concordia Publishing House.
Offering
1) You can give by sending your envelope to HCLC.
2) You can give online from the Holy Cross homepage (holycrossmpls.org). Click on the blue button or directly via the Holy Cross online donation form. You can give to the General Fund, Trinity First, We Care, Synod or Trinity First. Donations are processed through faith-based Vanco. Payments are deposited directly into the Holy Cross bank account.
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Next Communion Service on March 28
Communion will be included as part of our online worship. Communion sets (wafer and juice in a sealed, individual container) are available. You can get the kits in one of two ways: Pick it up during office hours (Tuesday through Thursday, 10-3) or call the office to (612-722-1083) to have them delivered. You can leave a message with your name and the number of Communion sets you will need. Deacons will deliver the communion sets to those unable to pick them up.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Thank You to Those Serving Today:
March Altar Guild: Jean Anderson and Donna Daniels Choir Director: David Hinrichs
Choir Accompanist: Wendy Kofoot
Counters for today: Keith and Mary Lange Lector: Mary Mulfinger
Organist: Julie Wright
Pastor: Rev. Don Mulfinger Recorder: James Blomberg
In Person Worship to Resume
The Board of Deacons has decided to resume “in person” worship
services again on Easter Sunday, April 4th, at 9:30am. This assumes
there won’t be any further Covid complications. There will NOT be an Easter breakfast, but we hope to have a fellowship event in May. Watch for more details.
10 Wednesdays in Lent
Don’t forget the Wednesday service/Bible study are also posted on the church website.
A Musical Note
Thank you to the following for singing the hymns and choral anthems for our recent worship services: Dorie duBois, Amelia Erickson, David Hinrichs, Trinda Jevne, Jon Kofoot, Wendy Kofoot, Caleb Likely, Jim Likely, Sandi Likely, Sue Protzner, and Julie Wright. If you are interested in singing, contact David or Kevin at church. A solo or family singing would be a nice addition!
LWML Mites
The Mite offering will not be received again until April 11, 2021. This is assuming we are back to in-person worship services. Celebrations
Happy Birthday to Michelle duBois (3/13), Judy Nyman (3/27) and Deb Beiersdorf (3/29).
Pastor’s Office Hours
Pastor Don is generally in the office on Tuesdays and Thursday from 10-3.
Office Information
Office Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 10-3 Phone: 612-722-1083
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WORSHIP OPPORTUNITES
ONLINE
• Holy Cross: Go to the church website (holycrossmpls.org) and listen to our recorded service.
• Mainstreetliving.com/twincities
• Go to “The Lutheran Hour” at any time. RADIO
• “The Lutheran Hour” is broadcast on WCCO 830AM radio on Sunday mornings at 6:05a.m.
• “The Lutheran Hour” is broadcast on Sirius XM, Family Talk Channel 131 on Sunday Mornings at 9a.m.
CELL PHONE
• Download “The Lutheran Hour” app on your cell phone. TELEVISION
Each Sunday, viewers enjoy a 30-minute remastered episode of “This is the Life,” a popular Lutheran Hour Ministries series from the 70s and 80s. The episode is followed by a modified Lutheran worship service—led by a different local pastor each week.
Main Street Living is broadcast at 9 a.m. on WFTC. WFTC can be found in the following places:
TV Channel 10 on Spectrum, Comcast, Mediacom TV Channel 29 on UHF Digital, DirectTV, Dish
TV Channel 807 on Comcast and 803 on Mediacom TV Channel 9.2 which is over the air.
